Anti-Drug Program office issues RFP

The Kaua’i County Office of the Mayor Anti-Drug Program is soliciting proposals to fund and implement the STRATEGIC PREVENTION FRAMEWORK-STATE INCENTIVE GRANT (SPF-SIG) UNDERAGE DRINKING PREVENTION PLAN. Proposals must be culturally relevant and incorporate evidence-based underage drinking prevention programs for Kaua'i youth, ages 12 to 17. This request is part of a broader initiative, the County of Kaua'i Strategic Prevention Framework State Incentive Grant (SPF-SIG), which seeks to prevent and reduce alcohol use among youths 12 to 17 years old on Kaua'i using evidence-based programs and practices.

 

The Strategic Prevention Framework State Incentive Grant Underage Drinking Prevention Plan for Kauai is now available for download at www.kauai.gov/antidrug

 

 The County of Kaua'i has announced it will join hundreds of communities nationwide to host Town Hall Meetings as a part of Alcohol Awareness Month.

The Town Hall Meetings are intended to alert the community to the risks of underage drinking and empower the community to take action. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and Federal Government’s Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking (ICCPUD) are supporting these Town Hall Meetings with the help of the Office of the Mayor Anti-Drug Program office, Hawai'i Partnership to Prevent Underage Drinking (HPPUD) and Kaua'i Boys and Girls Club. Similar meetings are taking place in communities across America coinciding with April as Alcohol Awareness Month.

“We hope to educate parents, teachers, officials, youth and other community members about the impact underage drinking has on the community,” Mayor Bernard Carvalho, Jr., said. “Protecting our youth from the dangers associated with alcohol abuse is part of protecting their future.”

According to the Anti-Drug Program office, 32 percent of Kaua'i’s eighth graders report abusing or being dependent upon alcohol; Kaua'i’s sixth graders find it nearly twice as easy as the rest of the state’s to gain access to alcohol and 79 percent of Kaua'i’s youth ages 12-17 report it’s “not at all difficult” to get alcohol from friends.

“This year’s theme, ‘Talk early, talk often, get others involved,’ really gets to the heart of prevention,” Strategic Prevention Framework State Incentive Grant Project (SPF-SIG) Specialist Amanda C. Gregg said. “Underage drinking is a serious problem on Kaua'i – one that starts incredibly young – 11 years old for males and 13 for females. If we can succeed in getting more adults to talk to their children about alcohol, we’d be one step closer toward preventing alcohol-related fatalities.”

The two Town Hall meetings will feature a Boys & Girls Club youth presentation called the Photovoice Project, a process that has been used for research, education, social change and the development of more healthful public policy. Youths were asked to show through their photos how alcohol and alcohol advertising has impacted their lives and the lives of those around them and how they would solve the problem of underage drinking in Hawai’i.

Guest speakers also will include Gina Kaulukukui, Domestic Violence Intervention Coordinator for the Kaua'i Police Department, Executive Director of Life’s Bridges and State Chair for the Suicide Prevention Task Force. Presentations will also be done by members of the Liquor Control Department, Kaua'i Police Department and Drug Court.

The Town Hall Meetings will be both be from 5:30 – 8 p.m. The first will be Monday, April 12, 2010 at Kekaha Neighborhood Center and the second will be Monday, April 26, 2010 at Anahola Club House, Anahola. Light refreshments will be served. For more information, contact Amanda C. Gregg at 241-4923 or agregg@kauai.gov.

###

 

 LĪHU’E – Wearing red to show support of February as Drug Free Awareness month on Kaua'i, prevention, treatment and enforcement professionals, educators, parents and teens attended today’s Anti-Drug Program Open House.
 
The Open House followed Mayor Bernard Carvalho, Jr.’s signing today of a proclamation designating February as Drug-Free Awareness Month on Kaua'i in the rotunda of the Moikeha Building at the Līhu'e Civic Center.
 
Information on-hand included online resource guides to prevent substance abuse and related issues, Teenline Hawai'i, Youth Suicide Prevention and parent guidebooks for raising healthy teens.
 
Tips in the parent guidebooks included how to monitor teens, how to set expectations and how to reciprocate respect.
 
“It’s critical that we get the word out preemptively, before tragedy strikes,” said Theresa Koki, County Anti-Drug Coordinator. “Alcohol abuse among our youth, youth suicide, the prevalence of ‘ice’ (methamphetamine) that remains on Kaua'i – these are issues we need to keep in our consciousness if we ever want to prevent them.”
 
Suicide warning signs include suicide threats, giving away belongings, obsession with death, decreased interest in friends and changes in eating or sleeping patterns, according to the Hawai'i State Department of Health and Centers for Disease Control 2007 Youth Risk Behavior Survey.
 
For Suicide Prevention Help, call 1-800-753-6879. For topics including sex, pregnancy, alcohol, drugs, family and foster care, teens can call Teenline Hawai'i: 877 521-TEEN (toll-free statewide); on the Web: www.teenlinehawaii.org; myspace.com/teenlinehawaii;
e-mail: info@teenlinehawaii.org; For a copy of the parenting handbook, Navigating the Teen Years, e-mail: agregg@kauai.gov.

 

NAWILIWILI -- In an effort to help promote awareness of drinking and driving during the holiday season, the Mayor's Anti-Drug Program office volunteered to help hand out "thank you" bags to sober drivers Thursday at a sobriety checkpoint near Nawiliwili Harbor. The contents of the bags were donated by the Boys and Girls Club and MADD, who collaborated to help thank the public with this simple 'thank you' gesture to those who passed the sobriety test and were subsequently told to continue on their safe way home by KPD.

On hand, too were Strategic Prevention Framework/State Incentive Grant Data and Project specialists Deslynn Jaquias and Amanda C. Gregg.

"It was a fun activity with a positive spin on the serious issue of drinking and driving," Gregg said.  

County Anti-Drug Coordinator Theresa Koki said campaigns like this are crucial in prevention efforts.

"It's a top priority to participate in events that augment public awareness of drinking and driving," Koki said.

"Alcohol is associated with celebration and is a social norm in many states, including Hawai'i. Unfortunately, however, the holidays are also a time when people make exceptions and let children drink, too. That said, we hope people remember kids can become addicted to alcohol and are susceptible to addictive behavior before allowing this to happen in their home. In addition, holidays are a time when there is more drinking and driving, and we want everyone this holiday season to ensure they help keep their families and themselves safe."

 

LĪHU‘E -- The Anti-Drug Office was proud to participate with the Boys & Girls Club of Hawai‘i, Lihu‘e Outreach, with funding from the Hawai‘i Partnership to Prevent Underage Drinking and assistance from Mothers Against Drunk Driving in a sign-waving effort to promote an underage drinking awareness campaign, asking residents to drink responsibly this holiday season.

Times Supermarket participated in the campaign by placing stickers on alcohol products reminding youth that the law requires buyers and consumers of alcohol be 21 years of age, according to a news release. 

The campaign aims to educate youth, adults and merchants about the dangers of irresponsible alcohol consumption. According to the Strategic Prevention Framework/State Incentive Grant Project Specialist Amanda C. Gregg, who collected underage drinking data for Kaua'i in order to attempt to get funding from the state under the County Anti-Drug Program office, Commercial vendors, restaurants, parents and siblings and friends consistently provide alcohol to those between the ages of 12 and 17.

“Kaua‘i is in need of education at worksites regarding liquor laws, education of parents and community and legislative change that will restrict youth access to alcohol,” Gregg states. “In addition, Kaua'i’s youth and community attitudes and behaviors toward drinking need to be addressed regarding wellness, health, and decisions that impact the future, such as alcohol-related driving accidents and more.”

Kaua'i data from 2007 housed in the Anti-Drug Program office show the average age of first use of alcohol on Kaua'i by male children is 11, and for female children, 13.  In addition, Kaua'i’s 6th graders find it nearly twice as easy as the rest of the state’s 6th graders to gain access to alcohol by current alcohol users in intermediate and high schools.  Kaua'i’s older youths, 32.4 percent of its 17-year-olds, also beat the state (29 percent) when it comes to successfully acquiring alcohol.

 

Shattered Dreams, a school-based alcohol prevention program that aims to raise awareness of the consequences of underage drinking through dramatization, is getting a boost from Kaua‘i's emergency responders. All proceeds from the sales of a 2010 calendar featuring local fire fighters and lifeguards who donated their time and images will go towards training for the staff and volunteers of the underage drinking prevention program on Kaua`i. The cost per calendar is $20. On Saturday, Dec. 19, from 10 am to 2 pm, the fire fighters and lifeguards featured in the calendar will be having an autograph session at Kukui Grove Center food court. Photo, left, of Ehren Edwards and Chauncey Pa, by Stan Koga

 

On July 6th, 7th, and 8th, 2009, County of Kauai's Anti-Drug Office held the UH Speed and Quickness Clinics at Vidinha Stadium.  Over 200 athletes participated each day.  To see pictures from these clinics, click "read more...".

 read more ...

The Ahu Waiwai program provides assessment, education, counseling, outpatient treatment and aftercare services.  Services address a variety of needs that include the following: addictions, situational stressors, interpersonal relationships, other trauma and issues that affect daily living and the ability to cope.  Available for adolescents and adults.

Click " read more..." for more information, including how to contact Ahu Waiwai.

 read more ...

The Continuum of Care matrix is now available for download.  The matrix includes an anti-drug's program's type of services, primary purpose, enrollment requirements, and when, where, and who the program serves.  This matrix is primarily for the youth, with programs for children from preschool to high school.  The adult matrix can be found in the Kauai Community Drug Response Plan, also available for download.

Click on "read more..." to download the Substance Abuse-Related Continuum of Care Matrix for Kauai's Youth.

 read more ...

Click on "read more..." to take the survey.  Thank you.

This online survey is sponsored by the Kaua'i County Government and the East Kaua'i Drug Prevention Education Team (EKDPET). It is anonymous, so personal information isn't necessary. Please be as forthcoming as possible as the information we gather will help ensure more resources to make our island a better place to live and raise a family. We appreciate your help. Mahalo.

 

 read more ...

The Kauai Community Drug Response Plan for 2008 - 2013 is available for download. Click "read more" to view. read more ...